Flame
by jenc0449
Summary: Their relationship was a flame. Full of intensity, but the breakup was inevitable. They bothe knew it would die out. The thing with flames, someone always gets burned. A story about Jerome and Mara falling back in love.
1. Chapter 1

Flame

Mara rounded the corner, her full attention on the binder and folders she held in her hands. Her English report was due next period, and she was having difficulty finding it. Normally, this kind of thing never happened to her. Normally, her mind wouldn't have been on only Jerome for the past week. Normally, this shouldn't have bothered her. But it did. Her mind drifted back to searching for her paper. It should have been in her purple binder, but it had managed to evade her. As she continued to shuffle through her things, a paper slipped from hands.

"Fiddlesticks," she whispered. As she bent down to pick it up, someone beat her to it. And that someone was Jerome. The very person she had been trying so hard to avoid. "Jerome…" it barely managed to escape from her lips. He couldn't help but notice how she slightly smiled as she said his name. Their eyes briefly locked together before the two stood in unison.

He started off quietly, "Do you want to go—," only to be cut off by Joy, who jumped in front of him, her brown hair twirling about. He was not happy about this. Joy had constantly been persuading Mara to deny him since the competition.

"Remember the sisterhood Mara!" Joy stated, holding her left hand up, while balancing on her tippy toes. Before she could get anything else out, Jerome's hands pushed her back down so he could talk to Mara.

Mara could tell from Jerome's expression that he was getting tired of this. "Yes, Mara, listen to Amber," he saw her eyes flutter up to meet his, warning him to be careful. But she already knew he wasn't going to be. "Oh sorry, _Joy_," at that Mara's eyes went back to Joy's, offering an apology. "Still leeching off someone else's style 'til you find your own?" he could tell that had hurt her, since her eyes had gone from his pale blue ones to Mara's warm brown ones. They seemed to be asking, _"Why him? Out of all people you had to choose him?" _While Mara's eyes just gave an innocent "sorry."

Tensions were starting to become high, and at that moment, Willow decided to come bouncing in to make everything better. "Hi, Jerome!" she shouted, putting extra emphasis on the "O" in his name. She was full of smiles and laughs and cheerfulness and he hated it. He hated it _so much._ "See you in detention!" she added an additional smile. "Excite!"

While she had first run in, Mara had noticed Jerome mouthing something that looked like, _"Oh my _fucking _god."_ She couldn't be sure, but it seemed like an accurate guess to her. At least she'd never have to worry about him falling for someone like Willow, seeing as how much he clearly hated her. She then turned to Joy, hoping to make things right. "Joy, he knows nothing about fashion," that didn't seem to make a change in her mood, so she added, "and he's Jerome." This had succeeded in making her friend smile again. Her happiness was rudely interrupted in the next millisecond.

"I _love _how you're keeping Amber's spirit alive through the medium of fashion," Joy looked like she was about to say something, but Willow proceeded to talk, so she just clenched her fists and shook her head. "And if I'd had my heart _crushed_ in love's cruel grip, then I'd wear something that said, 'I don't cared that Fabian's not interested'," Joy was still shaking her head, and now mouthing for Willow to stop, "like—a JUMPSUIT! They're stylish and practical!" she added a slight giggle at the end for good measure.

Mara looked absolutely and utterly shocked. "Fabian…? What's that? Joy!" she whined. She knew where this had ended last time, and she wasn't about to watch her friend get her heart smashed again.

"Well you see, Fabian—"

Joy had gotten fed up with her rambling, and was determined to put an end to it, even if it meant shouting at her. _Especially _if it meant shouting at her. "IS YOUR NAME JOY?" That got Willow to shut up. She viciously shook her head back and forth to confirm that she wasn't.

Mara looked hurt. Everyone keeping their secrets from her the last two years had really taken a toll on her. "Why didn't you say anything?" She clucked her tongue, "Oh, you poor thing."

Joy rolled her eyes. "Oh good, pity."

Willow broke the silence. "Oooooh, Joy, if you sign my petition to join Anubis House, I can be there for you as a shoulder _all the time._ Oh, maybe even join your sisterhood!" Both Mara and Joy had had enough, and walked away before they would do something they knew they would regret. Willow looked extremely confused, but still upbeat and cheery. "Where are you going?"

Mara could still hear Willow's voice muttering to herself, even as she reached her own locker. Now, where was that English paper? Time had managed to slip away from her, and she had a measly five minutes to find it and make her way to the other side of the building before being late. And being late was _not_ an option. She'd had a perfect attendance rate and no tardies since year four, and she aimed to maintain that. Even if meant going to school ill, which she had done on a multitude of occasions.

Four minutes left. She continued to vigorously shuffle through her books, checking in between the pages, but to no avail. She sighed. _Dammit._ Before she had a chance to bang her head against her locker, a voice interrupted her. The same one from earlier that she was still trying to avoid.

"Looking for this?" She turned around to see Jerome, with a faint smile on his lips, holding her essay. She could tell that he hadn't meant to make her stress out, and just did it for fun.

"Jerome! I've been looking everywhere for that! And now I only have," she checked her watch, "three minutes to get to the other side of the school. I'm going to be late," she said with a sigh, before snatching her paper back from him and slipped it into its rightful place in her purple binder.

He grabbed her arm and pulled her along with him. "Not if we walk fast! Come on!"

"Don't you have to get to your own class?" Mara questioned while trying to keep up with the tall boy in front of her. He easily had a foot on her, and her stride wasn't as large as his, resulting in her more being dragged along than walking.

"I do, but I'm Jerome Clarke. They won't expect me to get there on time anyway. And besides, I have to make sure a beautiful lady gets to her own class on time. What'll they do, give me more detention?" Mara had to try hard not to stop run-walking, because if she did, she would fall flat on her face. Jerome had just called her beautiful. It's not like he hadn't before, but she just wasn't expecting it. She decided she wouldn't talk the rest of the way, and instead just offered him a smile in return.

They had broken out into a full out run, and now her hand was in Jerome's. She could feel her heart beating, but she knew it wasn't just from the running. Her English class was approaching fast, and she didn't want to let go just yet. He dropped her off at her classroom with a smile, before turning and running back towards the other end of the school to get to his own class. Before she knew it, the bell rang, and she hurriedly made her way to her seat before the teacher caught her up. She hurriedly pulled out her chair and sat down, just in time.

"Good afternoon, class. Today we will be learning about 'Iambic Pentameter.' 'Shall _I_ com_pare _thee _to _a _sum_mer's _day_?' This is an example of one of Shakespeare's works which demonstrates the pattern of iambic pentameter. It consists of stressed and unstressed syllables. I have a worksheet for you that will explain this and give you some practice. But first, please pass forward your essays on _The Grapes of Wrath_. I'm looking forward to seeing your opinions on this magnificent novel."

Mara opened her purple binder, looking forward to today's lesson. Pulling out her essay, something caught her eye. It was sticky note with a message. "I'm sorry. I'm really, really sorry. Want to go get lunch some time and talk things through? –Jerome xx" It was a sweet gesture, but Mara would need some time to consider the offer. She pulled the sticky note off before handing it to her English teacher.

"Ah, Mara. I'm looking forward to reading yours," he said with a grin.

The final bell rand, signaling the end of the day, and Jerome knew what that meant. Time for an hour of hell. He wasn't exactly the nicest person, and he didn't want to test his patience with Willow. He had already had an encounter with her earlier today, and that was more than enough for him. Taking his time, he gathered his calculator, and put in the inside pocket of his math folder along with his homework. He had paid no attention during the class, too busy wondering if Mara had found his note, and what her response would be. Maybe he could even get her to help him with his math if he was lucky. But there probably wouldn't be much math tutoring going on.

After visiting his locker, Jerome reluctantly made his way to the costume closet. Mr. Sweet was waiting next to the door, with a beaming Willow at his side. Jerome tried his best not to scowl.

"Ah, Jerome! Perfect timing! As you two already know, you'll need to sort through everything and catalogue it, as well as organize it and hang it back up. Good luck. You'll be needing it." He then proceeded to unlock the doors, and swung them open before taking off.

"Jerome, this is going to be _so much fun_! I'm glad that out of everyone, I'm doing detention with you!" she smiled her giant smile before diving into the mounds of glittery clothing. It wasn't long before Willow, being the theatrical perso she was, found something that interested her. "Jerome," he turned around at the use of his name, with a plastic leg in his hands, "I moustache you a question!" Willow was holding a cheap looking fake moustache above her lip, and he couldn't help but chuckle. "Or, ve could pretend ve are spies! Quick! Ve must find ze secret formula!" He turned around to see a sequence covered pink scarf draped around her shoulders. "I might become a spy. Though I'd also like to be a vet, or a supermodel." She put the scarf down.

Jerome was a little scared by her, and she _never stopped talking_. "Always good to keep your options open!" he usually wasn't this quiet, but there was just something weird about Willow that made him like this. She abruptly set her sword down, making a rather loud noise, before deciding to pick it back up.

"What do you want to be?" Her question had caught him off guard. This was something he hadn't even told Mara yet, let alone figured out himself.

"Um…" he trailed off before disappearing under a table in search of something. There was some rustling and the boxes began to move. He reemerged with a police hat on, and laughing.

Willow clapped. "Yay! …See? This is fun!"

Jerome removed the hat, and noticed the amount of dust that had accumulated in it from years of storage in the costume closet. He blew on it trying to clear some of the dust away, only to have it fly up and get in his right eye. "Ow!" Willow looked over in concern, only to see him holding his eye, and she laughed. Maybe detention with Willow for the rest of the week wouldn't be so bad. She seemed like a nice enough person.

Willow squealed and clapped her hands as Jerome held up a gladiator costume and laughed. "And to think I've been trying to avoid detention all these years."

"We could be king and queen of detention!" Jerome grabbed a hanger and sat it down. He had heard what Willow said, perfectly clearly in fact, but he wasn't planning on responding. "Unless… Mara. I mean, you two are like relationship royalty." At this point Jerome noticed that she had feathery angel wings on. Her expression also visibly sank. Jerome tried not to let this phase him.

"We were. _Past _tense." She seemed puzzled at this. She had picked up a rose and was clutching it close to her chest. "I messed up. She dumped me."

The hurt was obvious in his eyes, and Willow could see it. "But if she knows you're sorry, then why won't she forgive you?"

This was obviously a delicate subject for him. "Probably because I'll mess up again. It's sort of what I do."

"Well," she pointed the rose at him, "if it's what you do, then it's who you are." She smiled one of her Willow smiles, which seemed to cheer him up.

"Yeah! I'm _king _of messing up! King I tell you!" she smiled at him as he reached down to pluck a prince's crown from a box of clothing.

"No don't! It'll… squish your hair up," she grimaced.

"Aww, could you never be queen to a king with squished hair?"

She pointed the rose at him again. "If it was your squished hair, I think I could live with it."

"Well, alright then," he bent down to pick up the matching crown for the king. He didn't see it, but there was fear in Willow's eyes. She was afraid of falling for him. She was afraid of him falling for her. And she was afraid of hurting Mara, who might even end up being her roommate. "I crown you, Queen Willow, of the Costume Cupboard. Your majesty." They both bowed to each other, and laughed nervously. The two were just about pull away, when they noticed how close they were to each other. Had it been anyone else, Jerome would have pulled away and rid his mind of all of these thoughts. But Willow did something to him.

He looked down into her eyes, and she looked up into his. They both felt their heart beat quicken, and their breath hitch. Ever so slowly, Jerome leaned down, and placed his lips upon hers.

**AN: Ahhh! I'm back! I know I've been on a super long hiatus, but I didn't die. I just lost my inspiration and stuff. But now I'm back and I plan to update more than I ever did before and make my chapters longer and improve on my writing! So anyways, about this story. I think this is as much of the original Jara/Jerillow storyline that this will follow. From now on, it'll just be what I want to happen. So hopefully I actually update it. And this is going to be about the whole Jara/Jerillow love triangle that is currently existing. I'm not sure how I feel about jerillow yet. I think some of the original Jara stuff that I like has died, and I don't ship it as much anymore. There was a post I saw on tumlbr about how they realized they more so shipped HHA jeroen/Mara than HOA Jerome/Mara. So I guess that's where I'm at too. So yeah. Hopefully I get back into the habit of this writing thing, and I may even finish my other stories. I promise! And anyways, review to show your love or hate!**

**Peace ~jenc0449**

**And hopefully FF saves my linebreaks this time, since it never has before :/ But if not, if the stories just randomly changes, just know there was supposed to be a line break there.**


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: Okay, to all of you freaking out thinking this is going to be a Jerillow story, it most likely won't. I think I've decided on it being Jerillow at first and then Jara falling back in love with each other and bringing back the season one and some season two aspects from their relationship. So all of you Jara shippers out there freaking out, CALM YOSELVES. Just remember that things have to get worse before they get better. And could more than one person maybe review this time? Please? And there's still a little bit of the previous episode in this so I lied a little bit.****  
**

Flame

Chapter Two

Willow's heart stopped. She was kissing Jerome. Jerome Clarke. _Mara's_ Jerome Clarke. This wasn't right. It was wrong. It was so wrong.

She pulled away slowly. "Jerome, I don't think we should be doing this," she whispered t

"Right, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that. Er, yeah," she could tell things were going to be awkward between the two of them now.

"It's not that I don't like you or anything, because I do. You're really nice and funny and sweet, but you're also Mara's."

This made him mad. "I don't belong to Mara! I'm my own person and I can make my own decisions!"

Willow looked taken aback. "I'm sorry; I just meant that I know your heart belongs with her. I didn't mean that she controlled you or anything. Sorry."

He sighed, "No, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have snapped at you like that. It's just that... never mind," and with that he turned and walked out.

Why did he feel this way? He liked Mara. He _loved_ Mara. So why was this happening? He should be content. He should be ecstatic. The relationship he'd been waiting two years for had finally happened, and suddenly he didn't want it anymore. What was wrong with him? This shouldn't be happening.

He slammed his fist against the row of lockers before continuing down the hall. He was infuriated with himself. There was no chance he was going to hurt Mara. Even if he ended up not having a romantic relationship with her, she was still one, if not the closest person to him. And he wasn't going to lose her, no matter what.

As Jerome opened the school's doors, a gust of wind immediately swept his hair back. While he had been in detention with Willow, it had become a terrible blustery day. He grabbed his school bag and held it high above his head, sheltering himself from the harsh elements. Despite his attempt to blockade the chilly rain and powerful wind, it still managed to envelope his as he jogged towards Anubis House.

He could feel his hair sticking to his forehead in damp clumps. His clothes were also soaked now, and the wind pressed them against his skin, chilling him to the bone. Changing from a jog to a sprint, the warm and inviting house was just within his sight. The cold air stung his lungs, but he forced himself to continue.

Finally, he reached the overhang of the house, and stood there for a moment in an attempt to catch his breath. He leaned against the brick of the house watching the tree branches violently sway back and forth in the distance. Slowly, he sank down into a sitting position, resting his head the soaked fabric covering his knees. In the distance, he could hear the faint cry of an owl. Before standing up, he outwardly sighed.

The cold metal from the doorknob met his now clammy hands. He took a deep breath and turned it, slowly walking in. He stood in the mud room, letting the water fall from him and collect in small puddles on the floor. He removed his soaked jacket and gently placed it on the coat stand before entering the house.

The door to his room lingered just down the hallway, just out of reach. Somehow, he found the strength to shuffle down the hallway and push the door open before collapsing on his bed. His legs ached, and he had a million thoughts running wild in his head. He was going to end up giving himself a headache.

Why, _why_ has he done that? Of all the stupid things he could have done whilst broken up with Mara, he just_ had_ to kiss Willow. _Why_? And what was worse, now he couldn't stop thinking about her. Willow had always seemed like she belonged on another planet, somewhere far away from here. But now, he felt like she belonged here. With him.

Jerome couldn't stop himself from letting his mind wander back to Mara. Her beautiful silky black and curly hair that she had started straightening last year to impress Mick, much to his dismay. Mara's curly hair and Mick seemed so long ago now. It seemed like just last week he had been competing for the girl with the gleaming chestnut—almost maroon eyes, heart. But lately, they had seemed darker and more glazed over than glittery and gleaming. Almost as if she was in a trance. Her light beige skin didn't hold a single blemish, and was perfectly smooth. But Mara's smile—that was the thing he loved the most about her. No matter how dull or depressing of a day it had been, her smile was always there to cheer him up.

And then there was Willow. Willow who had light auburn hair that seemed to always curl perfectly. Her pale complexion was dotted with freckles that complimented the small brown specks in her emerald eyes. And her eyes were always shining. When she smiled, when she was confused, when she was laughing, and he guessed even when she was crying. That was something Jerome hoped he would never have to experience. And then, the thing he least expected happened. He felt his heart flutter.

Those little butterflies crept into his stomach, and he knew he was in trouble. His heart belonged to Mara, yet he got butterflies thinking about Willow. The very same butterflies he used to get around Mara, but he hadn't experienced that feeling for a very long time. And he knew why. Maybe it was finally time to admit it to himself.

He knew he no longer loved, or even liked Mara. Maybe he had known this for a long time, but he didn't want it to be true. Because it _couldn't_ be true. These feelings he'd had for this girl for so long shouldn't have subsided so easily so long ago. He should still get that warm fuzzy feeling every time they shared a smile or caught each other's eye. This shouldn't be happening to him. He'd denied the way he felt for her for so long, that he'd forgotten what it felt like to _really_ like someone.

Maybe this was for the best. Maybe this was a good thing and what was supposed to happen. Maybe Mara wasn't perfect for him after all. But there were so many maybe's. So many that he couldn't be sure of his feelings for either girl. But he couldn't live in the past, or he would be forgotten along with it. Willow was the one he knew he had feelings for, but didn't know how long they would last. Willow was who he liked now, and he wouldn't deny it. He might not act on it just yet, but wouldn't deny it anymore.

Jerome had finally changed his damp clothing, and was in a better mood. As he strolled into the common room, he spotted someone that he knew would be easy to tease. "Ah, who are we come as today, then?"

She didn't look amused, "Joy, actually. I see you're still going with slimy rat fink. So last season," she finished as she walked off into the kitchen.

Alfie immediately jumped forward, "Hey, so how was detention with Willow? Horrific? Alfie's listening."

Jerome paused for a moment, hoping his face wouldn't give anything away, "It was rather fun, actually."

"Detention?" Alfie looked incredulous.

"Mhmp," He mumbled in reply.

"Fun? Those are two words that don't belong in the same sentence, like, "Don't!" and, "Eat that cake, Alfie!" Ooh! Cake! That's a good idea, actually. Yes... cookies!" Alfie had already sprung up from the couch and was headed towards the kitchen.

"Let's just say, the company made the occasion. Don't you think she has really sparkly eyes, though? Rather like... Mara! Hey! Didn't see you there..." his heart nearly stopped. Had she heard any of that? He hoped not.

"It's okay, Jerome. You shouldn't be ashamed of your emotions." _Oh no, she'd heard everything._ Apparently Alfie thought so as well, seeing as how he was slowly sneaking behind her, making his sneaky retreat to the kitchen.

What was something he could say that wouldn't give anything away? "I'm just so sensitive," that would have to do.

"Which is why I'm ready to forgive you. You're officially my boyfriend again! I missed you!" she paused to hug him; "Do you really think my eyes are sparkly?"

He couldn't believe his luck! Maybe she hadn't heard anything. "Like stars in a clear night sky!" Mara was satisfied with his reply, gave him one of those smiles that he used to love, and made her way to her room.

Before Jerome left too, Joy saw his sigh and run his hand through his hair. What could that mean?

Alfie's squeal of excitement brought Joy out of her trance, "Yay! Jeromeo and Mariette are back on!"

"I wouldn't get too excited if I were you. Something seems a little... off this time."

"W-what do you mean?" Alfie stuttered, trying to keep his additional knowledge from Joy.

"Something just seems a little off, that's all."

And with that, Joy gave Alfie a half smile before exiting the kitchen.

**AN: I tried using three asterisks this time instead of line breaks, so hopefully those save. But if not, that's why there are just a bunch of random changes in the story. But yeah, there's chapter two! OMG GUISE I'M ACTUALLY WORKING ON A MULTICHAPTER FIC. YOU SHOULD BE PROUD OF ME. And to show that you're proud of me, you should review! Pwease?**

**Peace ~ jenc0449**


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